A questions for all the food addicts

I think it DOES get easier as time goes on....Once I am on track.....However, when I get off track, my bad habits can return VERY quickly! That is why it is so important to catch the slip ups or binges fast before they turn into a fiasco!! (huge weight gain!!)

I was listening to SP radio the other day and the host said "repetition is the mother of change and behaviors so profound that they become effortless". It takes between 21-30 days to make something a habit so I believe that if I make small changes and stick with them until they become a habit I will succeed at reaching my weight loss goals. If you try to do to much at once, the inclination is going to be to give up. Every right choice you make undoes a wrong choice. Be sure and include an occasional treat in your healthy eating plan because it is about moderation NOT deprivation. I don't know if it gets easier but nothing that is truly worth it in the end is going to be easy.

It gets a lot easier. Your stomach adjusts over time to eating less, and your mind adjusts too. Eventually habit starts to carry you through a lot of tough situations, and being mindful and planning ahead help with others. If it were impossible, no one could do it! You just have to keep yourself focused until your body and mind start to change, and have faith that it does get better if you just set yourself up with realistic and healthy goals from the outset, and then stick with it. That, and never let your mind try to tell you anything when you're hungry.

Portion control probably took the longest time for me to learn during my own weight loss journey. For years, I thought a half a chicken was a perfectly reasonable portion. Whenever I went out with my cousin, a half a chicken plate would be on the menu. And with sides too. Whenever I went to KFC, I'd always get the four piece dinner special. A two piece special is what someone bought if they wanted a snack.

Little did I know that like many Americans, I suffered from portion distortion. When we go to restaurants, we're used to seeing piles of food because as Americans we expect the most bang for our bucks. And, when we are presented with a miserly plate, we wonder if we got taken.

Learning what a true portion of something is, isn't easy. Changing habits learned over a life time isn't easy either. You've taken the first few steps towards learning a healthier way to eat. One thing I will say is this, you don't have to be perfect to be healthy. There will be days when you might end up having a slice of pizza for breakfast. And that doesn't make you a bad person or an unhealthy one. I've been known to still eat the occasional slice of pizza for breakfast.

Good health isn't about being perfect. It's about finding the right balance and that really does take time.

Yes, it absolutely does get easier. Your tastes will change the longer you eat whole, nutritious foods. As the PP said, you'll notice when things are too salty, too greasy, too syrupy, too sweet, etc. You will still have your favorite junk foods; keep in mind that it is OKAY to eat those occasionally. The trick really is moderation. Also, you will come to realize that some things you thought you loved, you just don't love enough to spend the calories on them, or you really don't love them so much anymore.

But back to the moderation thing. Start paying attention to your hunger levels. When you start eating only when truly hungry, you automatically won't eat as much. This helps greatly with moderation, particularly when eating things that aren't as good for you nutritionally. If eating a treat, make sure you stop when you're not hungry, no matter how good it looks/tastes. You can always have more another time. And that is my secret. I eat what I want, for the most part. Of course, what I tend to want now is VERY different from I used to want. I rarely want junk anymore. However, when I do want something that isn't really all that healthy, I let myself have a small portion of it. I'm satisfied with that because I don't feel deprived. Basically, ALL foods can have a place in a healthy diet, as long as you keep focused on moderation. That can be hard at first, like everything else, but it also gets easier. When you realize that you really can have birthday cake/chocolate/a DQ Blizzard/etc. every so often, then you stop obsessing over those things, which makes it way easier to not stuff yourself with them whenever they present themselves.

I'd have to agree with BunnyKicks. How you word everything will make a huge difference. The way that you talk to yourself will invoke different feelings just as the way you talk to anyone else. When I told myself, "Oh I can't eat this, I can't eat that", I would binge on whatever I was trying to keep myself from eating.

It was very difficult for me at first because I love junk food. I'm still working on my nutrition, but you'll find it easier and easier as you make healthier choices. You'll even find that some of the old things you used to like don't really taste all that good. This has happened to me with super salty, sweet, and greasy foods. It's just too much because I'm not used to that kind of intake anymore. For instance, the normal gatorades taste too syrupy for me now. I couldn't believe that I used to love them!

I am having the same problem too. One recipe I found here was a pizza replacement. Take zucchini, slice it in half, spoon out the seeds, fill with low fat mozzarella shredded cheese, top with veggies like mushrooms, green peppers and/or turkey pepperoni. Bake in the oven until desired color. The cheese is melty and stringy like pizza and it takes pretty good. I do not recommend cooking it and then saving it for later. The zucchini gets mushy. Good luck to you!

HA! I think virtually everyone here will agree with you - it's NOT easy at first.

My best advice would be to try and re-frame your thoughts away from a focus on what you "can't/shouldn't" have, and instead put your creative energy towards thinking about all the great things you CAN have. Somehow, I find, the language matters.

Instead of thinking "I shouldn't have a party pizza for breakfast" - think "tonight I'm going to make my own pizza!" (and go out shopping for lean capicolli, ham, mushrooms, and a whole wheat pizza base). Whatever you make at home will be miles better nutritionally AND will taste better, too.

Instead of thinking "I don't need a the whole pan of 3 cheese penne" - think "if I cut back on the pasta and cheese and bulked this recipe up with a bucketful of sauteed vegetables, I could eat a whole pan of this stuff!" And then get full trying :)

When trying to think what you can have this weekend, remember - it's summer! Farmers markets are in full swing. Fresh fruit and veg abound! Take advantage of the season. Experience seasonal, local agriculture. Pig out on a full pound of blueberries (only 250 calories) and you won't miss the somehow-greasy-yet-dry-at-the-same-time convenience store blueberry "muffin." (750 calories). Barbeque a pork chop and serve it with a giant tossed salad and some steamed fresh green beans, and you might not miss the loaded-baked-potato.

Hey all! I am back on my journey to weight loss starting with my nutrition. I am focusing on portion as well as the type of food i eat. My question came to mind last night while sitting at my desk trying to figure out what i would have to eat this weekend(the hardest days for me). I was trying to think of healthy foods, whole foods, dishes that would use what i had in the house, but the only things that kept coming to mind were junk or things that i'm not sure i could keep myself from eating all of. I tried not to let myself get overwhelmed at the thought that this is my life now, but it got to me a lil bit. These are the choices i will have to make for the rest of my life! "no that party pizza for breakfast is probably not a good idea" or "this three cheese penne is so good but i guess i don't need the whole pan." Most people might think these are easy answers but for me, an addict, it isn't! I know its hard and i WILL do my best to stick with it and make the choices that are right for my health but my question, finally, is does it get easier? Have you found that as you're losing weight the choices are easier or telling yourself "hey that's not the bet choice" gets easier? Thanks yall and much love!

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013